Users of media player devices (e.g., virtual reality headsets, mobile devices, game consoles, computing devices, augmented reality glasses, etc.) may experience virtual worlds using the media player devices. For example, a media player device may render video of what a user would see and audio of what the user would hear if the user were actually present in a virtual world being presented.
In certain virtual worlds, different users may be able to jointly experience the same world simultaneously. In these examples, the different users may be able to communicate with one another by way of a basic intercommunication system. For example, a first user experiencing a virtual world from one location may speak into a microphone (e.g., a microphone integrated into his or her media player device) that captures his or her voice as an audio signal. That audio signal may then be transmitted and presented to other users at other locations who are simultaneously experiencing the virtual world with the first user. The other users may respond so as to be heard by one another and by the first user in like manner.
While such communication may be convenient and useful to users experiencing a virtual world together, the intercom-like nature of such communication may detract from the realism or immersiveness of the virtual experience. For example, because an audio signal presented to a first user of what a second user spoke may be a monaural capture of the second user's voice that is played back directly into the first user's headset, the first user may perceive that he or she is hearing the second user over an intercom system rather than naturally speaking to the user in person as the video content of the virtual experience may be intended to suggest.